Can't Live Without the Fire
by Draic Kin of the Balance
Summary: Having believed all their troubles are behind them now, Dimitri and Rose travel to Mystic Falls for a change in scenery. However, they soon find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that will change everything. AU taking place two years after "Last Sacrifice" and shortly after the events of 4x15 "Stand By Me".
1. Chapter One: Game On

**Can't Live Without the Fire**

**By Draic Kin of the Balance**

* * *

"_Raised in this madness_

_You're on your own_

_It makes you fearless_

_Nothing to lose_

_Dreams are a drug here_

_They get in your way_

_That's what what you need to fight day by day._

_Oh damn, the war is coming_

_Oh damn, you feel you want it_

_Oh damn, just bring it on today_

_You can't live without the fire_

_It's the heat that makes you strong_

_'Cause you're born to live and fight it all the way_

_You can't hide what lies inside you_

_It's the only thing you know_

_You'll embrace it and never walk away_

_Don't walk away_." –Within Temptation, _Iron _

* * *

**ELENA **

I could hear Damon and Stefan arguing in the other room. About me, of course. It always is about me, when they fight. You would think I would have gotten used to it by now. Sighing heavily, I poured myself a shot of whiskey and quickly drank it down as I listened to their petty squabbling.

"…She is ruthless without her humanity, Damon!" Stefan was saying. "By having her turn it off, you've turned her into everything she isn't supposed to be." I rolled my eyes. _Stefan, always trying to be the knight in shining armor. God, I am glad I dumped him._ It had only been hours since I'd made my decision to set my home afire, effectively ridding myself of the ghosts of my past, and freeing myself of my empathy upon Damon's urging. Jeremy was dead. He was gone for good, and I felt nothing for his loss. The others were no doubt grieving for him.

"What the hell was I supposed to do, Stefan?" Damon retaliated.

"Oh, I don't know? Keep her from becoming the next Katherine, for one thing!" I almost choked on my second shot. _Keep me from becoming the next Katherine Pierce? A bit late for that, don't you think? _I rose from the couch and went upstairs to Damon's room, where they were arguing like two small children over a stupid toy. I wasn't stupid. I knew they wanted me to take the cure, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. _After all, I've fucked them both at one time or another. I don't need to give them anything else. _

I leaned against the doorframe, my arms crossed, smirking to myself. "Hi, boys," I said playfully.

"Elena," Stefan began. "You don't have to be like this. Please, just hear us out. We can help you. _Let us help you._" A feral snarl escaped my lips. There was nothing stopping me from tearing his throat out right here in this room. His and Damon's. Of course, they were centuries older than I was. I'd only been a vampire for a few months. I wouldn't stand a chance in a fight – but, I was the girl they both loved. They would never hurt me.

Damon approached me, and I forced myself to meet his eyes. Those gorgeous baby blue eyes, one of his finest features. I could still remember the passion with which he had made love to me for the first time, the firmness of his muscles. I mentally kicked myself. _Note to self: You don't feel anything for Damon. What you felt for him was the sire-bond. _"Do you really want to do this with me, Damon?" I challenged. "Don't deny it, I'm better this way."

"Yeah, that's what I told Lexi when she was trying to help me," he said in frustration. "Elena, I love you – and it's because I love you, that I need you to, want you to, turn your humanity back on. Please." He holds my face in his hands, his eyes filled with love and pleading. I steel myself against him. He doesn't know the effect he has on me, and it's best that he never does.

"You really think the sire bond will work now?" I laughed. "Face it, Damon. I don't love you, I never have loved you, and I'm not going to turn my humanity back on." I turned on my heel and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind me. Stupid lovestruck idiots that they were, I knew they wouldn't give up on me. It was pathetic. If I was to keep them from giving me the cure, I had to get it before they did – and it was in Katherine's possession. She was staying one step ahead of all of us, and now, I had to be one step ahead of _her. _I whipped out my cell phone and dialed.

"Elena!" I could sense Rebekah's confusion on the other line, but I wasn't going to keep her in the dark for long. We both wanted the same thing. "What do you want from me?"

"The cure." _Game on. _


	2. Chapter Two: Welcome to Mystic Falls

**ROSE **

"Mystic Falls, huh?" I turned to face Dimitri after we climbed out of the car, parked in front of our apartment. "It's a bit different than what I'm used to, but I'll get used to it." I offered him a warm smile. Lissa and Christian were newly married, and currently visiting Italy for their honeymoon. As king and queen of the Moroi, their duties were to their people – and my duty was to protect Lissa, even if it meant giving my life for her. I was her Guardian, sworn to protect her.

"You wanted a chance to get away from everything after the royal wedding, Roza," Dimitri said. "Such an extravagant affair, it was." I wrapped my arms around him, and softly kissed him. I knew how he felt about our relationship and the possibility of marriage. He wanted to marry me, but I was resistant to the idea of marriage. At least, I used to. I was twenty years-old now, and the thought of marrying wasn't as daunting as it had been two years ago.

"We'll walk down that aisle, Comrade," I assured him. "I promise you." Our lips found each other again, and Dimitri began to fondle at my clothes frantically. "Let's take this inside, why don't we?" I suggested, and kissed him again. Once we were inside, we held nothing back from one another. Dimitri unzipped my black leather jacket, and it descended down my arms, falling to the floor. He kissed my neck, and made his way down my body. I crossed my arms and quickly pulled my black tank top over my head and throwing it aside, leaving me in my lacy, black bra. I reached for the hems of his shirt, and it joined our scattered pile of clothes.

"You're beautiful, Rose," Dimitri said breathlessly, stroking my hair. His hand lowered to my breast, and my heart skipped a beat. I met his eyes, and gently kissed him as I unfastened my bra clasps and flung it to the floor. He lifted me into his arms and we fell onto the bed. His every touch and caress set my body afire, giving me the sweetest rush. My body responded to his in every way humanly possible. Dimitri whispered words of love into my ear, and all I could think of was how much I loved him and the life we were going to build together. After making love, we rested in each other's arms, our limbs intertwined beneath the sheets. Our fingers, too, interweaved.

"This is nice," I said. "Settling down, being with you."

"It is, Roza." Dimitri kissed my fingers, one by one, and I couldn't help but kiss him again. We made love again, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

**DIMITRI**

Rose rested in my arms in a deep sleep, her hair and body slick with sweat from our intense lovemaking. I stroked her hair gently. She was beautiful, and it never ceased to take my breath away. I was about to doze off when a scream pierced the air from outside. I didn't hesitate. I gently, quietly, disentangled myself from Rose and quickly donned my clothes, grabbing my silver stake on my way outside. I didn't know if the threat was a Strigoi, but I didn't want to take any chances either.

I found her feeding on an innocent. Her victim was already dead; she was completely draining her of blood. I didn't think twice about it. I threw my stake at her, but she whirled around and caught it just inches away from her heart. She snarled at me, her lips wet with blood and fangs bared. She was no Strigoi. That much was obvious.

"Did you just try to stake me?" she growled, throwing it to the ground. She licked her lips. "You just picked a fight with the wrong vampire." She lunged for me, but I was ready. I threw her onto her back onto the cold, hard pavement almost effortlessly, and she sprung to her feet. "Let me guess, vampire hunter? Or are you just stupid?"

"I'm a Guardian," I said. "And you are not a Strigoi."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," she spat, "and I don't care. I'm hungry." She attacked again, but I managed to grab her head and jerk it violently to the side. There was a sickening crack, and she crumpled to the ground. I knelt down, holding the stake high above her heart, and was about to make the killing blow when it was suddenly kicked out of my hand.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing_?" I looked up to see a young woman towering over me, her blonde hair shining in the moonlight. Her blue eyes were ablaze with fury. "A silver stake? Are you fucking joking? Just who the hell are you?"

"I could ask the same of you," I countered, rising to my feet.

"I'm Rebekah Mikaelson," she said, "and you almost staked my best hope of becoming human again!"

"You're not a Strigoi, and neither is she." I gestured towards the unconscious vampire woman. "Just what are you?"

"We're vampires," Rebekah said bluntly. "What the hell is a Strigoi anyways?"

"It doesn't matter," I answered. "What did you mean –" I was interrupted midsentence when a cell phone went off. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from the vampire who'd attacked me. Rebekah beat me to it.

"Elena's phone," she said breezily. "Oh, I'm sorry. Elena can't come to the phone right now, since her neck is broken. What do you want, Damon? If I wanted to, we both know I could easily rip your precious Elena's heart out of her chest so I suggest you stop playing games. You know where Katherine is. Tell me, and maybe Elena will live another day."

Suddenly, Elena's eyes shot open and she jolted upright, gasping for air. "Fucking hell!" she swore, picking herself up. She glanced towards me. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"You have much more important things to do than go on a killing spree, Elena," Rebekah reminded her. "Damon's on the phone."

"Damon, huh?" Elena rolled her eyes. "Give it to me. Damon, what is it you want now? I'm getting tired of you and Stefan checking up on me. I don't want the cure, and it's time you idiots got that through your heads…otherwise there will be consequences. Is that clear?" I grabbed the phone out of Elena's hands. Whatever was going on, I needed to know. I was already involved.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded.

"And…who is this?" Damon asked.

"Dimitri Belikov," I answered. "I already know who you are, Damon, and I would like some answers."

"Well, Dimitri, this isn't something that can be done over the phone. I don't think you're going to rest until you know everything, so just meet me at my place." Damon gave me the address, and Rebekah took the phone out of my hands and killed the connection.

"Let's go, Elena," she said. "We'll find Katherine on our own, and take the cure."

* * *

**CAROLINE **

"_Are you insane_?" I demanded. "You're just going to let this Dimitri Beli-whatever guy in on everything? On top of Elena abandoning her humanity, the last thing we need is another guy to screw everything up."

"I'm with Caroline on this one, Damon," Stefan concurred. "If Dimitri turns out to be a potential vampire hunter – one of the Five, like Connor was – then you've essentially given him the opportunity to put a stake through our hearts." Damon rubbed his temples, before drinking a shot of alcohol. I could sense pent-up frustration and anger, but I wasn't sure if it was directed towards Stefan and me, or himself or at Elena.

"Bully for me, Stefan," he snapped, "Elena's going to fall off the rails at one point or another. You don't think I can see the risk, do you? But, if I don't, then we're going to lose Elena – and the cure – forever!"

"We need to get the cure and convince Elena to take it," I said, "but where exactly is it?"

"That's the $1,000,000 question, Caroline," Damon said matter-of-factly. "I've asked Bonnie to see if she could cast a locater spell so we can track down Katherine, and therefore, the cure."

"What'd she say?" I pressed.

"She'll do what she can. No guarantees." I nodded. I hated waiting. I hadn't spoken to Elena ever since she'd turned off her humanity, and I just didn't trust her. Who would trust her now? She was pretty much Katherine 2.0 now. The door burst open, and I knew it was Dimitri.

"You're here. Finally," Damon said brusquely. "Now, you can get the gory details."

"Rose is coming, too," Dimitri informed us, striding over to us. "I just called her."

"Who's Rose?" I couldn't help but ask.

"My girlfriend."


	3. Chapter Three: Double, Double Trouble

**ELENA**

"Elena, this is getting ridiculous!" Rebekah said. "We've been through three towns, and with nothing to go on." We climbed out of the car – Damon's car – and I quickly took in my surroundings. Small town, busy but quiet. Lush green trees, and a considerable population. A local sign welcomed us: _WELCOME TO WILLOUGHBY, PENNSYLVANIA!_

"Katherine can only run so far, Rebekah," I snapped. "And besides, I'm hungry." My veins were afire, screaming for warm and fresh blood, and there were countless choices right in front of me. I found a young man who was checking his phone, and I approached him. Rebekah followed closely behind. They looked up when they saw me.

"What are you doing, Katherine?" he demanded, outraged. "If you want to drink from me, the least you can do is at least ask me!" I exchanged a look with Rebekah. _Katherine is here. _

"I'm not Katherine. My name is Elena. Now, where is Katherine?"

"Who's Katherine?" he asked. I cursed. _She must have compelled the entire town to not know who she is except when they're speaking with her directly. Clever bitch. _

"I am," I said quickly. "I'm Katherine. Do you know where I went earlier today? Did I have something of great importance with me? Who are my friends here in this town? What's my address?" The man stared at me in bewilderment, and he hastily shouldered past me. I grabbed him by the arm, and looked him dead in the eyes. "Answer the question," I growled.

"Let go of me!" My temper flared, and I sank my fangs into his jugular. He cried out and struggled, but to no avail. Within minutes, his body went limp. I threw his bloodless corpse to the ground and wiped my mouth. "That got us nowhere, but Katherine was definitely here in town. We should split up, so we can cover more ground."

"Good idea." Rebekah took off in one direction, and I another. If Katherine was still in town, it was only a matter of time before she moved on. The elusive Katherine Pierce was never one to stay in one place for too long. She was smart like that. For over a century, she had been eluding death – and Klaus – with ease. She had the cure, and there was no doubt in my mind that she intended to jam the thing down his throat and kill him. If I had to kill her to get the cure, so be it. I wasn't afraid of getting a little blood on my hands.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and before I knew it, Katherine was before me, her fingers digging into my throat. Her fangs were bared, and she was furious. "I'm surprised you were able to find me here," she began frostily. "What was it that led you to me? Did one of my little friends tell you? Never mind that, you'll be dead."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Rebekah sounded from behind her. She seized her, and threw her harshly to the ground. "I believe you have something of interest to us."

* * *

**ROSE**

"So, hold on," I said, pacing back and forth. "Are you trying to tell us that there is a cure for vampirism?" I exchanged a glance with Dimitri. "I thought the only way was to plunge a silver stake through the heart."

"That's what I thought as well," he admitted.

"We're not Strigoi, Rose," Damon Salvatore reminded me pointedly. "We're vampires, but not the type you're so used to killing. The cure that we're looking for does not revert the Strigoi back to being dhampirs or whatever the hell they're called. It makes vampires human again, and we're looking for it so we can give it to Elena."

"She never wanted to be a vampire," his brother – Stefan – added on. "And now that her humanity is gone, she'll stop at nothing to get the cure before we do. It's our only shot at getting her back…before she loses herself forever." There was a determination in his eyes, and a remorsefulness as well. _He loves Elena. _

A cell phone went off, coming from Caroline's general direction. "Did she get something yet?" Damon asked her.

"She says that Elena is in Willoughby, Pennsylvania," Caroline reported. "You think Katherine might be there as well?"

"Looks like we're going on a little road trip," Damon announced. "Dimitri, Rose, are you coming or staying?"

"We're coming," Dimitri answered.

* * *

**KATHERINE **

I stared across the table at Elena and Rebekah, my temper's coals igniting. We sat in one of the local diners – a relatively casual, yet public place, for whatever they had in mind for me. Rebekah looked smug, but Elena was calm. Too calm, given the fact that I was the one who'd killed her precious little brother.

"For someone who is facing their brother's killer, you're calm," I remarked cuttingly. "I would've thought you'd be more –"

"Emotional?" she offered. "Emotions are a liability." I nodded slowly, and crossed my arms. _This just got more interesting. _

"You've turned off your humanity switch. The world's most pitiful, self-righteous vampire." I cocked my head to the side. "Why are you really here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Elena countered. "I know you have the cure. Where is it?" I glared at her, and Rebekah grabbed a fork and stabbed my hand with it. I cried out in pain, and she pulled it out. The wound healed instantly, and Elena looked at me impassively. If she enjoyed this, she gave no sign of it.

"Are you going to have us ask one more time?" Rebekah demanded. "Where is the cure?"

"I don't fucking have it on me," I spat, "and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you." I was about to retaliate when my phone went off. I knew who it was, but I refused to take their call. Not with these two in my way. "Are we done here? I have places to go, people to meet."

"Like whoever's calling you?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't ignore the call on us. Answer it." She gestured encouragingly. "Go on. Answer it." Begrudgingly, I complied.

"You're late, Katherine," Elijah Mikaelson said irritably. "Where are you?"

"I got caught in a rut – but I'll be there soon. Just wait for me," I told him. Elena's eyes were burning holes into me, and Rebekah looked as if nothing more would please her than to tear off my head and feed it to the wolves.

"Don't take too long. You know I don't like waiting for too long." His words were warning, but there was no threat buried underneath them. I trusted Elijah enough to know he wouldn't dare betray me. He loved me. "Are you satisfied now, Elena?"

"Not quite." She smirked. "You are not going to meet Elijah. I am. I know that if I go like this, he's going to know it's me and not you, Katherine, so I'm going to need to borrow some things. Your jewelry, to start. Earrings, bracelet."

I reached to take off my earrings. "I'm not giving you my bracelet. See, that is my daylight bracelet. It's daylight outside, and I don't plan on burning up." I gave them to her and as she donned them, she added, "Your jacket, and shoes. I'll go out and buy something a little more…Katherine-y, and get myself a new haircut."

"I take it you want me to keep an eye on her?" Rebekah asked. Elena nodded, and I shrugged off my black leather jacket and tossed it over to her. She threw it on, exchanged her shoes for mine, and rose from the table. "I'll be back soon." She strutted off, and I shifted towards Original blondie.

"You have no other reason to be here unless you want the cure," I said matter-of-factly. "Oh, don't look so surprised. You want the cure for yourself, but here's the thing. Taking the cure will only take away your immortality, you see. Everything else you hate about yourself, it'll still be there. You won't be able to just flip a switch anymore. You'll have to live with yourself for the rest of your life, however long that may be." I smiled. "Now, do you still want the damn cure?"

"Klaus is going to kill you and I'm going to love every single moment of it," she spat.

"Easy, ladies!" We looked up, and I bristled.

"Stefan. Damon," I said frigidly. A man and woman followed close behind them, and he froze in his tracks when he saw me. Stefan and Damon took a seat, and their comrades followed suit. "What are you doing here?"

"Where is Elena?" Stefan asked.

"She's on her way to meet Elijah – but it won't take him long to see through her façade. He'll rip her heart out." _No love lost between us, even if he does kill her. The world would be a better place without Elena Gilbert. _

"You look just like Elena." Mr. Long Hair was staring at me in awe. He was attractive, and his Russian accent was thick. "How…?"

"I'm a doppelganger. It's that easy," I said cuttingly.

"Dimitri, Rose," Damon said to them to the side. "We have much bigger concerns than Katherine's resemblance to Elena." Dimitri nodded in agreement, and Rose spoke up.

"You're the one who killed Elena's brother." It wasn't a question. "Based on what the Salvatores have told me, you're worse than the Strigoi."

"Listen, I've been on the run for 145 years," I told her curtly. "I've done some terrible things to ensure my survival, and that includes getting my hands dirty. Jeremy Gilbert was just collateral damage." I shrugged. "Just one more name on the list of people who've gotten in my way, and I have no problem adding a few more names to that list, if need be." I smiled with false warmth. "Looks like it's just us for a while. And I'm bored. Why don't we have some fun together?"


	4. Chapter Four: Petrovas and Paramours

**BONNIE **

"DAMMIT!" I shouted. "Silas, I can't do this with you constantly hovering over me." He was cloaked in the shadows, his face a mask, but I could sense his growing impatience. I was sitting in a circle of candles, trying to channel as much of my power as possible. No longer was Silas taking the form of Professor Shane. His masquerade was over.

"You say that you're going to help me, Bonnie," Silas spat. "Do you want your beloved Jeremy back, or would you rather he stay trapped here with me on the Other Side, lost and alone?" His words become a feral hiss, almost demonic in nature.

"Get out of my head," I said lowly. "The only thing preventing me from crushing your skull in is that Jeremy is over there with you." I closed my eyes, and focused all of my energy onto the spell. I knew what was needed for the expression triangle. Three massacres. Twelve humans, twelve hybrids, and twelve witches, and the triangle would be complete. I would be able to bring down the Other Side, and Silas would take the cure and die. I was well aware that Stefan and Damon wanted the cure for Elena, but they didn't understand. I had the power to bring Jeremy back to us. He was the only family that Elena had left. And she'd lost him. She'd lost everyone. I was her only shot to bring him back. I could bring back everyone she'd lost, if I so chose.

"Did you just threaten me?' Silas growled. "I'm much, much older than you. And that makes me much stronger than you." He couldn't hurt me. He was still on the Other Side, and all of his magic was rendered useless; he was no more than a shadow of his own self, lingering between life and death. And I was going to help him die, in exchange for the one I loved. "And I can hurt you. I can hurt you very bad. Like this." Deep gashes formed on my arms, and I screamed. The pain was like fire, the same fire that had consumed Elena's home. I howled and sobbed, but the agony was relentless. The scars began to cover my body, going deeper with each cut. Tears of blood oozed from my body, and dripped onto the cold, marble floor. Silas stared down at me, expressionless.

"Do the fucking spell, Bonnie," he spat, "and make the sacrifices before I hurt someone."

* * *

**DAMON **

Who knew? Five vampires and two dhampirs walk into a bar. Just me, Stefan, Katherine, Rebekah, and Buffy and her boyfriend. Katherine was giving her death glare, and Rebekah looked as if she would rather be anywhere else but here, stuck with us while Elena was off to who-the-hell-knew where.

"Now, what exactly would Katherine Pierce be doing in Pennsylvania?" I asked. "You don't seem to be a small town girl, but you do live in a lonely world."

"Enough with the Journey puns, Damon," Katherine snapped. I offered her a tight and humorless smile. "I have better things to do than sit here with a bunch of imbeciles." She rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms. "Let me guess, you're all here for the same thing. The cure."

Rose voiced the question that was undoubtedly on our minds. "Why do you even want the damn thing, Katherine? What's in it for you?"

"The $1,000,000 question," I said coolly. "Because, Rose, Katherine always has an agenda." Rose exchanged a glance with Dimitri, and that was when I saw it – them. On the back of her neck was a tattoo. It took the shape of a black snaking streak, looking much like an _s. _Below was another mark – two streaks of serrated lightning intersecting. The snake served as a wall between the two veins of lightning. I made a note to ask her about it.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't jam my hand into your chest and shove your heart down your throat." I hurled the words at her with full force. "You have the cure. Now, where the fuck is it? I know you, Katherine. It's not as if you have it on your person right here, right now. That'd be too easy."

"Damon. Always so intuitive," she purred. "You have no reason to want the cure for yourself. I can see right through you. Elena. It always boils down to poor little Elena, because she can't handle being a vampire. How pathetic." It took all of my self-control not to lunge across the table and wrap my fingers around her throat. She was provoking me, and I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction. It's what she does. She crawls beneath your skin, and she knows your weak spots. And Elena was a weak spot. Almost everyone in Mystic Falls knew how I felt about Elena.

"What does it matter?" Rebekah asked. "Elena knows you guys are going to force it down your throat, and

"Rose and I will go find Elijah and Elena," Dimitri spoke up. "Stefan, Damon, you stay here with Katherine and Rebekah." They both rose from their respective seats, but I reached out and grabbed Rose by the wrist.

"Whatever you do, don't you dare stake Elena," I warned her. "She might be a stone-cold bitch without her humanity, but don't think for a second that driving a stake through her heart is an option because if you do, I'll kill you myself." Rose wrenched myself out of my grip, and Dimitri's glare towards me was poisonous as they both made their way out of the diner.

"Are you going to be a proper lady and take us to the cure, Ms. Pierce?" I asked, mimicking a formal tone.

"If you insist, Mr. Salvatore," she replied. "You know the rules."

"There are no rules," I reminded her coldly. "Remember?"

* * *

**ELENA**

I could see Elijah just up ahead. I was no expert at impersonation, but I'd crossed paths with Katherine enough times to know how she carried herself and the harshness with which she spoke. We were polar opposites, yet exactly the same. I was no longer held back by my emotions. I could kill without the horror and guilt consuming me. I was more than willing to hurt people if they got in my way. I didn't care anymore. When I was human, I didn't understand why or how Katherine could bring herself to do what she did, devoid of remorse, even with her humanity – but now I did. Emotions held you back, and could cost you everything. I knew that much. My entire family was dead and buried. Just like Katherine's. She does what she has to do to survive, as will I.

"Elijah," I called out, slowly striding over to him. Katherine's stiletto heels are bitches to wear. How the hell does she run in these, let alone fight? I slowed my steps as to avoid stumbling and giving myself away.

"Good. You're here," he said. I made my way to him, and he kissed me, slowly but passionately. My first instinct was to push him away, but I remembered quickly. I am supposed to be Katherine. "Where is the cure?"

For a moment, I choked. Katherine wants to give the cure to Elijah? _Why? _It didn't make any sense. Why would Elijah want the cure? _Unless Katherine wants to bargain for her freedom, _my intuition purred. _She is as calculating as she is seductive. This isn't the first time she's seduced a man into helping her. _"It's in a safe place," I said quietly, and he pulled away from me. I felt uncomfortable under his stare as he studied me. I'd curled my hair at the local salon, and borrowed some of Katherine's jewelry. I thought I looked convincing. "Don't worry, Elijah," I whispered into his ear. "Nobody is getting their hands on the cure."

I don't know what gave me away, but Elijah suddenly grabbed my wrist just as I was about to depart, jerking me towards him. "What the hell, Elijah?"

"Where's Katherine?" he demanded.

"She's alive," I answered. I could feel the blood, the heat, rushing to my eyes. The familiar ache of my fangs dropping. My temper flared, and I snarled at Elijah. With a violent shove, I sent him flying and I took off. I blurred away from him just as he rose to his feet; I was not stupid. I couldn't fight an Original, at least without getting my head ripped off. It'd been luck that I'd killed Kol and survived. Would Elijah kill me? I didn't know, and I wasn't planning on sticking around. I must not have been watching where I was going, for I was suddenly flipped onto my back. A man whom I immediately recognized as Dimitri, and a woman was with him. And they were both armed with silver stakes.

The woman raised the stake above her head, poised to make the killing blow, but Dimitri stopped her. "Rose, don't." She looked at him, and then to me. I got to my feet, and smiled coldly, turning my attention to Dimitri.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Belikov?" I hissed. "Come back to deal me the killing blow?" I bared my fangs, and I had to keep from laughing aloud at Rose's visible anger as her boy toy restrained her from attacking me. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm Elena Gilbert," I said with false warmth. "Now that I've introduced myself…" I couldn't help myself. I was furious, and out for blood. I lunged for Rose's throat, and my fangs pierced her jugular. Her blood was rich, richer than I'd ever tasted before. The blood in the blood bags I'd sampled during my first few weeks as a vampire had been stale, and tasteless, and cold. Matt's blood had its own savor, but this was a whole new world. The taste exploded in my mouth, and I moaned in bliss. Rose fought against me, but my feeding was cut short when someone took me from behind, violently pulling me away from her. The blood was pulsing through my veins; I could hear nothing but her heartbeat as it raced, and feel nothing but my anger and bloodlust.

"Easy there, Elena," Damon chided. "Don't feed on your friends. That's rude." I wiped my bloodstained mouth with the back of my hand, scowling at him. "Rose, how're you holding up?"

"I'll live," she grunted, placing a hand to her neck to stifle the bleeding. "She got my jugular, but not enough to do any serious damage." I pouted, disappointed. Had I intended to kill her? Yes, but she was still breathing, right in front of me. The sight of her blood was driving me crazy with thirst. "Shit, Elena, what's your problem?"

I made to attack her again, but Damon stood between us. "Damon, get the fuck out of my way."

"Stop being such a spoiled little brat, Elena," he growled. "You and I both know that sooner or later, you're going to fall off the rails and a lot of people are going to die – and when you finally do turn the switch back on, it is going to _suck._"

"Aww, you're trying to save me," I mocked him. "How noble of you."

"You're going back to Mystic Falls," he said firmly. "And that's final."

"Oh is it?"

And there was a sudden snap, and I welcomed the darkness.


End file.
